Durham
Day 2
A good introduction to Durham is to draw a map of North East England, mark Newcastle, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough, and ask the visitor to place Durham on the map. Prof. Lynn Newton did just this as we sat down for a tea in her office. I learnt that surrounded by these industrial cities with a history in ship building, coal, salt, iron and steel trade, Durham stands out as a precious gem with no industry at all, and two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Cathedral and Durham Castle, both situated on Palace Green. The Cathedral is one of Europe’s great medieval buildings built in Romanesque style (in England traditionally referred to as Norman architecture) between 1093 and 1133. I had the great privilege of a private tour of the 11th century Castle which is currently the residence of Durham University students who are members of University College. Also located on Palace Green is the School of Music where, following a visit to Collingwood College, I accompanied Prof. Julian Elliott to an amazing piano recital given by one of the finalist students.
Durham University is England’s third oldest university after Oxford and Cambridge, and also one of the very few that has a collegiate system. Collegiate universities differ from centralised universities in a way that colleges are not only halls of residence for students, but also have a substantial amount of responsibility and autonomy. In Durham most colleges were established in the 20th century and are more dependent on the parent university. Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, and Yale are US examples of such universities.
After a busy and very rainy morning, I had my presentation at the School of Education at 13:00h followed by a nice meal at Oldfields Restaurant where the research related conversation continued in a more relaxed atmosphere sipping ginger beer, and enjoying the delicious Durham gin&lemon cured salmon, lentils, spinach, spiced potatoes&cool sour cream, and the famous sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce. I had to go for a walk after the substantial meal. There was so much more to discover. The rain stopped, and the sun came out.
Durham is a compact city, easily discoverable on foot. I first walked back to the medieval World Heritage Site at the heart of the university. The site has an outstanding political history, I read later as my discovery of this unique place continues even after my return to home in Switzerland. Durham was an autonomous buffer state between Scotland and England from the late 11th century until 1603 governed by the Prince-Bishops of Durham. They had both religious and secular powers whereby they could govern virtually autonomously as long as they were loyal to the king of England and mindful of their responsibility to protect England’s northern frontier. Durham’s autonomy and wealth made it a desirable place for powerful, ambitious men, and even though in later centuries Durham’s importance as a buffer state declined, the prestige of the Prince-Bishops remained which is well demonstrated for example, in architecture.
Continuing my walk I decided to follow the River Wear where all sixteen College Boat Clubs of Durham University train and organise inter-collegiate events and competitions.
Returning to the peninsula (also known as The Bailey) formed by the meandering River Wear, I took one more look at the magnificent buildings, longing for more time to visit the Palace Green Library, the Museum, inside the Cathedral, enjoying a break at a coffee shop, and taking a lot more photos. Perhaps one day I will return to this unique gem at the North East of England where I felt so welcome, and humbled by the the kindness and attention that surrounded me. I am grateful to both Ecolint and Durham University for this invitation, and my supervisors at the University of Geneva for their help in the preparations of the content of my presentation.